Atlanta DUI Lawyer Home

ATLANTA DUI LAWYERS

678-310-3476

Advocating for clients since 2005

Our Recent Results speak for themselves. We have a successful record of jury trial victories, and we have negotiated pre-trial dismissals of DUI and VGCSA charges for hundreds of clients. Whether it is a first time DUI charge or a vehicular manslaughter charge involving alcohol or drugs, The Howard Law Group has the experience necessary to defend your rights.

1708 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30309

☎ CONTACT

678-310-3476 phone | 770-836-5211 fax

“Mr. Howard came through for me by being responsive and handling everything I needed.”

When my other lawyer dropped the ball, Mr. Howard came through for me. They were always responsive in answering all my questions regarding my case in Paulding County.----S.W.

“Thank you, Mr. Howard, for fighting hard during my case!”

I wanted to write this review so that everyone knows what great lawyer Mr. Howard is and an even better person in my opinion. He fought hard for my case and always returned my calls. I'm glad he was my attorney on a very difficult case. I told him I wanted to write a good review after the job he did for me.

J.S.

“Mr. Howard did an awesome job fighting for me.”

I came in with a very difficult case and Mr. Howard always returned my calls. He was always nice and courteous to me but in the courtroom, he fought for me like a bulldog. I would recommend Mr. Howard to anyone who has a serious case.

J.Z.

“They really went to bat for me and helped me through my case.”

Bryan Howard really went to bat for me. I talked to a bunch of lawyers and I'm glad I settled with them. I recommend them in Douglas County for your case.

T.C.

DUI EXPERT

Bryan Howard Esq.

Bryan Howard, Esq. "the lawyer who fights for you" aggressively, effectively, and successfully represents his clients.

Bryan was a two-time All-American hockey player in college and he takes that same tenacity into the courtroom. He is afraid of no one and will stand up to any judge, prosecutor or attorney that stands in the way of justice for his clients.

Bryan Howard knows that bad things can happen to good people, but that this bad event should not adversely impact their reputation, their family, or their freedom. Mr. Howard has tried many cases throughout the State of Georgia to judges and juries. His experience trying cases on both the state and federal levels translates to getting better results for his clients. As owner of the Howard Law Group Mr. Howard has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed, no nonsense attorney who pays attention to the details of the case and is well-versed in the law.

As a former prosecutor, Mr. Howard tried everything from a murder case to a speeding ticket. Mr. Howard understands that no matter how small a case may be it is important to you the client and needs to be treated as the most important case in the firm. As a result, the Howard Law Group will return your phone calls and make sure you understand what is going on with the case. If you do not want to talk to a paralegal or secretary you will always be able to get ahold of Mr. Howard.

EDUCATION

William Mitchell College of Law – St. Paul, Minnesota

Juris Doctorate – 2005

Concordia College – Moorhead, Minnesota

Bachelor’s Degree cum laude – 2001

BAR ADMISSIONS

Georgia State and Superior Courts

Supreme Court of Georgia

Georgia Court of Appeals

Federal District Court 11th Circuit

Federal District Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

E-Mail: bryanhoward@howardlawgroup.net

Alejandro Arca

Alejandro Arca joined the firm after spending 13 years representing two Fortune 25 companies and the Unites States Army in various matters. Alejandro primarily focuses his practice on DUI, criminal, personal injury, immigration and construction law matters. Alejandro was born in Los Angeles, California to immigrant parents from Cuba. He is bilingual, fluent in Spanish (first language).

Alejandro currently serves as outside counsel for a Georgia Hispanic alliance organization, which has a particular emphasis on protecting and promoting the legal rights of the Hispanic immigrant community. Also, before joining the firm and having served as in-house counsel for Siemens and The Home Depot, Alejandro had a notable career with the United States Army, serving as Judge Advocate General officer (Attorney) with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Alejandro is dedicated to defending clients accused of DUI and aggressively fights to bring cutting edge DUI defense techniques to his clients. The National Highways Safety Administration publishes the curriculum for DUI enforcement training, and he is certified as an instructor. In many circumstances, Alejandro has had more training on DUI enforcement than the arresting officer on a case, and he can bring that experience to his client’s defense.

DUI DEFENSE IN METRO ATLANTA

Our results speak for themselves. We have a successful record of jury trial victories, and we have negotiated pre-trial dismissals of DUI and VGCSA charges for hundreds of clients. Whether it is a first time DUI charge or a vehicular manslaughter charge involving alcohol or drugs, the Howard Law Group have the experience necessary to defend your rights.

What is A DUI REFUSAL?

If you refused to take the official State-administered GA DUI breath test or blood test, this is called a DUI refusal. Drivers who decline the official chemical tests (required by Georgia implied consent law) put their ability to drive in Georgia at risk and it is absolutely imperative that they consult with a DUI lawyer who is knowledgeable about the changes in Georgia DUI laws, effective July 1, 2017. DUI law in the state of Georgia is changing rapidly and you need to hire an attorney who is up on all the changes and the new case law as it continues to affect how DUI cases are prosecuted.

Our DWI-DUI defense attorneys want to see exactly HOW your case was charged: alcohol only, Plus we want to see if only a DUI less safe is accused, OR if the client faces an additional DUI per se (for being over the legal alcohol limit) because of a “failed” breathalyzer or blood test. In accident cases, we always ask about possible serious injuries to another person, or a fatality that can lead to vehicular homicide GA felony charges.

Our criminal attorneys assess each of the Georgia criminal charges cited in the traffic tickets issued by the municipal, or a university police department, or by a federal, county, or state police officer, such as the Georgia State Patrol.

30 day Letter

When any driver is pulled over or stopped for any reason whatsoever and impairment by alcohol or drugs is suspected, that driver may be arrested and taken to jail for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

It is important to understand that a DUI Georgia arrest sets into motion two separate legal actions. The Defendant being prosecuted must successfully handle both the criminal court proceeding AND the pending administrative license suspension (ALS) proceeding against that is being pursued by Georgia DDS (the GA DMV) if you want to get your driver’s license back.

The Georgia implied consent law alcohol breath test is typically given at the jail or at a police substation after you have been handcuffed and arrested. If blood is being taken, it is usually not for BAC alcohol, but more commonly a blood drugs test. In Georgia, failure to say YES to implied consent can cause you to lose your entire right to drive for a full year by refusing to submit to implied consent testing. Plus, by rejecting the implied consent chemical test (usually conducted at the police station or jail), an officer would then be authorized to seek a search warrant for blood and take a forcible blood test from you, pursuant to state DUI laws. The DUI refusal can lead to a license suspension, even before the criminal case comes up. In Georgia, once you TAKE the arresting officer’s requested type of implied consent test, you are entitled to obtain your OWN independent test or tests from a person of your choosing. This request is protected under the GA implied consent law. Just because you allegedly blew over the legal limit, this test is STILL available and should be requested at a hospital in an adjacent county. Always know the name of a nearby hospital that will be willing to take your blood test, even if the facility is located in an adjacent county. Don’t ask for it to be tested on their hospital test devices, but ask them to draw the blood and deliver the tubes to you for later analysis. Shockingly, a typical hospital blood draw is NOT of whole blood, but conducted on test devices that only report NADH and do not measure alcohol AT ALL! If your arresting officer does NOT reasonably accommodate you in getting an independent sample, this can be grounds to eliminate your blood or breath tests.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE 30 DAY LIMIT IS MISSED?

You must act quickly after you have been arrested for DUI in Georgia. The first thing you must do is decide if you want to appeal the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) automatic license suspension process. You only have 30 calendar days after your arrest date to file this appeal with the DDS in Georgia.

This 30 days includes holidays and it includes weekends. This letter needs and should be sent to the Georgia Department of Driver's Services by certified mail and needs to include a 150.00 dollar payment to DDS otherwise a hearing to prevent the license suspension will not be granted. If this timeline is missed for filing the letter a temporary permit may possibly be the best option if there has only been one DUI in the past 5 years. Also speaking with the officer and trying to push the case to an early resolution is an option as well but an experienced DUI-DWI lawyer is absolutely necessary t acheive a successful outcome.

Additionally, a new statute allows for a IIDLP (ignition interlock device limited permit) to be installed which may be the best option for some facing a suspension, but it is important to know that there are barriers and issues that can arise to block this attempt to have the ignition interlock installed, pursuant to 40-5-64.1, the new GA implied consent law relating to this.

GEORGIA FIRST DUI CONVICTION PENALTIES AND POSSIBLE FELONY CHARGES

Georgia law mandates the following minimum misdemeanor penalties for an Atlanta first DUI:

24 hours in jail (possible credit for time served after your arrest)

12 months driver’s license suspension (with the possibility of a work permit)

40 hours community service

$300 – $1,000 court fines

12 months probation

DUI classes

Alcohol and drug assessment

A felony DUI will be charged if there were injuries to people in your vehicle, injuries to people in another vehicle, or a pedestrian was injured. Of course any accident caused while under the influence that resulted in a death will lead to a DUI vehicular homicide felony charge.

We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature.

— Edmund Burke

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The Howard Law Group is a boutique atlanta criminal and atlant dui law practice that provides legal advice to people which can make a huge difference in the lives of people going through very difficult times.